We’re obsessed with Elf on the Shelf to the point that we have a Facebook Group dedicated to it. [Join HERE] It’s been fun connecting with people we may never have met otherwise, sharing pictures, asking questions, getting ideas and even asking for help in a last-minute situation of “I forgot to move that creepy freaking elf AGAIN” that seems to happen to all of us at one point or another. Or more. Okay, okay. LOTS!
Within this group, we’re all getting to know each other through comments and personal posts. Most of the talk is Elf-related (duh) but an update from our new friend Tiffany completely threw us. She was talking about stockings and tangerines and the fact that St. Nick was showing up on December 6th.
Um…imsorryididnthearthatgibberish. What?
Of course we had to ask. We can’t let anything go. Like, ever.
She did.
Stocking night has become a tradition of ours. It is called Saint Nicholas Eve.
In Holland they would leave their shoes outside of the door and elves would fill them with little trinkets and tangerines. I use this as an opportunity to obtain my son’s Christmas list (so it never goes into a random mailbox for me never to know what is on it!). Every Dec 6th, as a family, we do a craft and our Christmas list like a snowflake. Before bed, we place the lists in our stockings and wake up to a stocking full of trinkets and a tangerine (Mommy & Daddy get a tangerine- no trinkets. The lists are, of course, gone because the elves brought them back to Santa at The North Pole.
We have celebrated stocking night since my son’s first Christmas and when we got our elf in 2011 we incorporated him Into the tradition. When my youngest wakes up in the morning, not only are there treats in the stockings, but the house (typically the living room) is trashed! On stocking night Duckie ( our Elf) gets to hang out with his friends and they have a big party!!! Typically, the tree is toilet papered and other things in the room are too. It is always the most memorable Elf on the Shelf day! This is definitely our favorite family tradition!
-Tiffany
Okay, this is a pretty cool tradition.
The Low-Down on ol’ St. Nick and why this day exists:
During a time of severe persecution of Christians, this devout believer, a man of means, offered monies and gifts to those in need. Legend has it that he secretly gave bags of gold to three sisters, whose father was too poor to pay a dowry for them to marry. St. Nicholas supposedly pitched the bags through an open window, where they were said to land in the maidens’ shoes, hanging by the fireplace to dry. (source: Yahoo)
Tonight, if you can race through the house, here’s what happens
On the eve of December 5th, children set out their shoes – near their bedroom door or the chimney – in hopes of receiving a small gift or treat. If they’ve been good they will receive a little surprise on the morning of December 6th. If they’ve been naughty all they’ll find is a lump or two of coal.
Do you celebrate this day?
Thank you for the email, Tiffany. You’ve opened our eyes to a really cool tradition. We’re grateful to know you.